1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to display apparatuses and more particularly to an advertising and information display which is designed to not only display words and/or drawings but also is designed to emit a sound which corresponds to the words and/or drawings and which is designed to be mounted on the front edge of a product supporting shelf within a store on an in-store display fixture or on a free standing display.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical self service retail stores, such as drugstores, supermarkets, pet stores, convenience stores, toy stores, mass merchandise stores, home improvement stores, computer software stores, liquor stores, and the like, have rows of multiple tier shelves which are to be used to support products for sale. The product, or the exterior package of the product, is visually displayed on the shelf. Generally, there are many units of a particular product stocked on that shelf. The consumer will normally select a product from the shelf without the assistance of a clerk. Therefore, the shelf also performs a dispensing function.
It is common for product manufacturers and distributors to want to include a display advertisement at their shelf location for a particular product. While a product is readily visible on a shelf, the mere presence of a product, because the product is displayed with numerous other products on the shelf, may be insufficient to stimulate consumer interest. Shelf space in a store is a valuable commodity. The amount of shelf space assigned to each product is at a minimum. A given product can become xe2x80x9clostxe2x80x9d on a shelf amongst all the other products. Also, the product may be enclosed in a small package so that there is no large xe2x80x9cadvertisingxe2x80x9d surface to catch the consumer""s eye or the available space on a package may be insufficient to contain all the information that a manufacturer or retailer wishes to impart to a potential purchaser. Additionally, the product may be packaged in a plain wrapping or, in the case of produce, no package at all. There also may be involved some specialty promotion with the product that is not included on the package since the promotion may only run for a short period of time.
Manufacturers and retailers are becoming aware that shelf advertising can be an exceedingly effective way in which to sell goods. Not only can the advertising motivate a consumer""s purchase, but it also can be informative to the consumer about the product. Shelf advertising is limited as to its available space. The only convenient location for shelf advertising is at the front edge of the shelf which is short in length. The shelf area in front of a product is usually no more than four to ten inches in length, and generally the shelf is only an inch to one inch and a half in height. Some shelf edges can be as high as four to six inches as in pet stores and home improvement stores. However, if some form of device could be mounted on the front edge of the shelf and the device constructed in a manner to be expandable to a larger area so that the additional information can be printed on the larger area and then made available to the consumer only when the consumer is interested in obtaining that information, then such an advertising device would be most desirable. Also, when a consumer is not utilizing the device, the device assumes a retracted state occupying a minimal amount of space when it is not used.
In the past, it has been known to mount a scroll type of device on the front end of a shelf with the scroll to be unwound to display written advertising or information about a product, and when then released by the consumer, the device retracts to a small size, at rest position. However, in the past, such scroll types of devices have been constructed to be complex and not capable of being manufactured at a relatively inexpensive cost which is inherently necessary in order for widespread usage of such devices. Another problem with former scroll devices is that such visually blocked the price channel without including a space for the retailer to place price, inventory, or barcode label. Modern stores rely on these labels to price, manage inventory and reorder stock. Additionally, such scroll type devices of the prior art have not been easily mountable on the front edge of modern shelving requiring the use of an unattractive and rather large size C-type of clamping device that is to be used to clamp onto the shelf. It would be far more desirable to have such an advertising device be quickly and easily attached and detached at the front edge of a shelf, specifically to the price channel, without utilizing bulky and unattractive clamping devices. Such a desirable form of advertising device has been obtained by the present inventor within U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,800. However, the advertising display device of this patent was limited to the use of words and/or images in relation to the advertising information. It would be desirable to construct an advertising display device that also included audio information that correlated to the printed information.
The basic embodiment of sound emitting advertising display device of the present invention utilizes a roller housing with a roller rotationally mounted therein, a sheet member is attached to the roller and extends through a slot in the roller housing. A windup spring biases the roller such that it tends to retract the sheet member into the roller housing. A pull handle is attached to the free end of the sheet member which prevents such from retracting totally to within the roller housing. Pulling on the pull handle extends the sheet member so that an advertising message printed thereon may be read and simultaneously causes an audio message to play. The roller has an actuator which connects to a tripping mechanism which is tripped automatically upon extension of the sheet member from the roller housing. This tripping mechanism will then activate the audio message.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the basic invention is modified by the tripping mechanism including a rocker arm and a switch. Movement of the rocker arm by the actuator causes the switch to be moved from an open position to a closed position thereby activating the audio message.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the basic embodiment is modified by the tripping mechanism being located exteriorly of the roller housing.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the basic invention is modified by the audio message comprising a taped message.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the basic embodiment is modified by including of a sound housing connected to the roller housing with this sound housing to include a taped message emitter and an audio speaker.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the just previous embodiment is modified by the sound housing including a first battery source to supply electrical power between the emitter and the speaker.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the just previous embodiment is modified to include a second battery source to also supply electrical power between the emitter and the speaker.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the basic embodiment is modified by the actuator comprising a cam wheel with the cam wheel to produce essentially noiseless activation of the tripping mechanism.